Close Encounters of the Same Kind
by K'sChoiceofAFI
Summary: While unconscious after hitting her head, Quinn is exposed to different versions of herself from other dimensions, living their own lives. After accidentally stepping into the wrong dimension, Quinn and the other versions of herself all swap in and out of each other's lives, yet somehow all arrive to very similar outcomes in their own lives.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Close Encounters of the Same Kind

**Pairing: **Quinn/Rachel Berry; Quinn/Puck; Quinn Finn

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters. Just having a little fun.

**Summary: **While unconscious after hitting her head, Quinn is exposed to different versions of herself from other dimensions, living their own lives. After accidentally stepping into the wrong dimension, Quinn and the other versions of herself all swap in and out of each other's lives, yet somehow all arrive to very similar outcomes in their own lives. 

* * *

Quinn sighed audibly with a heavy eye roll.

Rachel cut her eyes up to Quinn, lips pressed into a firm line. "I wish you would attempt to be more emotionally available."

With a huff, arms outstretched in exasperation, Quinn rebuffed. "What does that even mean? Emotionally unavailable," she scoffed. "I'm _always_ available."

"It means I get sick, _so_ sick of fighting for this relationship all by myself, Quinn. And no, you are most certainly not _always_ emotionally available." Rachel leaned into the doorway she had been standing in as she regarded her girlfriend.

Quinn looked away.

Rachel heaved a pained sigh and tried again. "I feel unappreciated, Quinn."

"Here we go…" Quinn muttered to herself as she glared holes through the ground.

"Especially since you've joined the Cheerios again."

Quinn glanced up at her. "I'm not any different."

"You're completely different," Rachel argued. "We spend significantly less time together. You hardly listen to what I have to say." She clutched her books to her chest, eyes coming to rest on her Mary Janes. "Look, I know I talk a lot. And I'm annoying, and sometimes I don't even make sense or allow you to get a word in." Bottom lip sewn between her teeth, Rachel met Quinn's eyes again. "But even still, you used to listen."

Quinn swallowed. The fingers wrapped confidently around her hip strummed against the bone as the fingers of her other hand began to fidget by her side. Her shoulders shifted underneath her uniform as she watched tears form in Rachel's eyes.

"I just—I miss you, Quinn. I miss _us_, the us we were before the Cheerios."

"_HEY, LADIES! GET YOUR BUTTS IN GEAR AND START YOUR WARM-UPS! WHERE'S FABRAY?"_

Straightening at the mention of her name, Quinn turned to the football field beyond the bleachers to find her team already taking off into a jog around the field. She turned back to Rachel with urgency in her eyes. "I have to go," she rushed out, already taking steps back toward the field. "Sue will kill me if I'm not out there." She absorbed the crestfallen expression on Rachel's face with a sigh. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Yeah…okay, Quinn." 

* * *

Quinn stormed into her bedroom and threw her duffel bag across the room. She rolled her neck to the side and released a pained hiss as she trudged across the floor. Her eyes squinted shut as she plopped down on the bed and she groaned in agony as she lifted her leg to take her shoes off, dropping it with an audible thud onto her hardwood floors.

She had texted Rachel twice in the locker room once practice was over then once again in the driveway when she made it home. All three text messages garnered no response and, logically, Quinn reasoned it was because she was having dinner with her fathers; but the earlier irritation that had stemmed from the argument coupled with irritation with Sue and how sore her body currently felt, left a very unreasonable Quinn.

In a huff of frustration she kicked a sneaker across the floor then stood from the bed. Stepping forward, she unzipped the back of her Cheerios top then peeled it off, hissing and groaning in pain the entire way. She came to a stop at the corner of her desk in the corner of her room where she always dumped her uniform after practice, and shimmied out of her skirt. Quinn was in the process of working her spanks down her legs when her phone rang. Recognizing the tone, Quinn attempted to hop forward toward Rachel's awaiting phone call. Her foot got caught in the pair of spanks and with a rather loud yell of an expletive, Quinn tumbled down, cracking her head on the corner of her desk before landing in a heap on the floor. 

* * *

Quinn groaned in agony as she began to come to. "I'm gonna need a damn aspirin," she mumbled to herself, clutching her head just where it hurt. Her eyes peeled open the barest hint to see…nothing. She didn't see her room. She didn't see her television across from where she should have been lying on the floor in front of her desk. She didn't see any pictures of her and her sister on her wall. She didn't even see familiar hardwood floors below her. "What the…hell?" she whispered in alarm, eyes widening to take in her surroundings. It was like she was in a white blob; it was the only way Quinn knew how to describe it. It was an empty vacuum with outer walls that moved around her like she was in a lava lamp. Sitting up, Quinn cradled her head in her hand as she silently observed the freak-world she had fallen into. "I'm still unconscious—have to be," she convinced herself.

"Umm…hello there."

"What the—" Quinn hopped up, growing woozy immediately and threatening to tip over.

"Whoa, hold on," another voice called, or perhaps the same voice, this time from a different point than the last. They both sounded alike, and way too familiar. Pretty soon she felt slender arms wrap around waist and guide her back to the ground. "Must have been some hard fall, huh?"

Once equilibrium seemed to be restored, Quinn opened her eyes. Her vision was black around the edges, but she was able to make out a familiar blonde staring right back at her. "I would sure as hell say so," she retorted, frightened. She began to scoot back as her vision cleared, and looked over to another figure standing several paces away…who also looked like her. "What the fuck is going on?"

The figure standing folded her arms across her chest with a furrowed brow and began to approach. "This one has quite the potty mouth."

"Who _are_ you?" Quinn finally shouted, glancing from one to the next. The likeness in all three of them was uncanny, but Quinn had never heard of having a twin, much less being a triplet.

The one who had helped her to the floor stood up and began to pace. "Let's see, how do we go about this?" Quinn deemed her The Calm One.

The other approached her. "We just _tell her_." This was The Impatient One, Quinn reasoned. She wondered briefly if she had hit her head and managed to knock herself into her own mind, coming into contact with variations of her own personality.

But that was silly.

…Right?

The Calm One and The Impatient One began to argue back and forth over how to best broach the topic, and Quinn began to shout over them. "Will someone please tell me before I strangle you both!"

The Impatient One stepped back to give The Calm One the floor. "Go ahead. You're better at explaining this anyway."

The Calm One shot the other a look before turning to Quinn who was now standing. "Okay. Wow, let's see how this goes."

Quinn folded her arms across her chest, meeting The Calm One head on.

"Well," The Calm One began. "You're Quinn."

Quinn scoffed. "Obviously."

"See that's the thing," The Calm One began again as The Impatient One snickered. "So am I. And so is she."

Quinn looked back and forth between the two, well _Quinns_ as if they had both grown two heads. "Excuse me—_what_?"

The Calm One rubbed her forehead as The Impatient One laughed harder. "This is always my favorite part."

"Okay, let me try this again. We're _you_ but from other dimensions," The Calm One told her. "And in the same vain, you're _us_ from a separate dimension."

Quinn observed the two of them in silence for a long moment. It was absolutely insane. Different dimensions? Sounded like a sci-fi novel Sam tried to get her to read once. But that was just it—science _fiction_. Different dimensions didn't exist in real life.

It was impossible.

…Right?

But they looked _so_ much like her. Hell, The Impatient One was dressed in a Cheerios uniform.

Which reminded Quinn…

Half naked, she angled herself away from the other two.

The Impatient One scoffed. "Been there, done that. Try hitting her head on the tile soap holder in the shower after reaching down to grab the soap, passing out in the shower, and ending up here naked for 'the talk.'"

Quinn offered a half amused, half relieved smile that another version of herself had been caught in an even more compromising position. "The…talk?" she found herself asking, only to regret it.

"The 'you're not the only you in the universe' talk. Or well, I guess you're the only you in _your_ universe, but not the universe as a whole," The Calm One informed her. She wasn't wearing a Cheerios uniform, and Quinn guessed by her patience and aura of serenity that she was far beyond those days, which made Quinn wonder her age. She wore a gray skater dress with a pair of brown boots that came up to her calves. Her hair tumbled down in waves over her shoulders and she gave off and air of maturity that Quinn felt drawn to.

Overwhelmed by it all, Quinn took a step back and turned away from the two, clutching at her pounding headache that only seemed to worsen with each fact that got crammed into it. "So what do you call each other?"

The Impatient One took a step toward her. "We all have varying names. That's Q—" The Calm One gave a small wave. "And I'm, grudgingly, Lucy."

Quinn's eyebrow arched as she turned fully toward Lucy. "As in Caboosey?"

Lucy reddened. "I said grudgingly."

Quinn nodded, eyes wide in disbelief at all of this. "Right."

"So what do you want to be called?" Lucy asked. "And Quinn is off limits, obvs."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Call me Fabray then."

The two nodded. "Why didn't I think of that?" Lucy whispered to herself.

"So what's your life like?" Q asked.

Quinn shrugged because, how does one explain their life to themself? "I don't know. I'm on the Cheerios. I'm in glee club, quit celibacy club. I'm dating Rachel."

Q and Lucy froze.

"_What_?" Lucy shrieked.

"No way," was all Q could muster.

Quinn stiffened at their remarks. "What of it?"

Lucy gestured wildly. "You're _gay_?"

"Oh, come off it," Quinn gritted out. She was still on the fence about whether or not this world was real, but there was no way in hell she was going to let another version of herself insult her.

Q's brow furrowed. "So…you've seen her naked?"

"That's sick," Lucy argued.

"I mean, she's my best friend and everything. I've entertained the idea, but…it'd just be weird," Q reasoned.

Quinn turned to Q with an odd look as she sized her up.

A ghost of a smile touched Q's lips. "I know that look. I'm not speaking of _your_ Rachel. I'm speaking of my own."

Quinn looked away, feeling her cheeks burn. "Makes sense." She cleared her throat. "And yes, I've seen her naked."

Q tilted her head.

Lucy looked as if she would vomit. "Eww!"

"Watch your mouth!" Quinn and Q shouted at once.

Quinn froze, taking a step back. "You really are me."

Q shrugged. "We're both you. And you're both us."

"Yeah, yeah, enough of this 'we are one' talk. I can't deal." Quinn clutched her head with a grimace. "How do I get back anyway?"

Q pointed around them. "There are doors. One for every Quinn who's here right now." She looked around, eyes narrowing. "Wait…"

"There are four doors," Lucy confirmed with a nod.

"Hello? Anyone there? I hear voices?"

They all swiveled around to the sound of the voice and Quinn felt she'd faint.

Q and Lucy sighed.

"Who is that?" Quinn asked.

"Celibate Sue," Q retorted.

Lucy snickered. "She won't like you."

Baffled, Quinn glanced between the two of them. "Wait, why?"

Just then the figure encroached upon them. Donning a yellow sun dress, Quinn watched as yet another her moved about in space. She seemed demure in nature, yet very observant as her eyes unapologetically met Quinn's and began to study her. "You're all here. Who is this one?"

Quinn rolled her eyes at the stupid charades they all seemed keen on playing. "I'm you, idiot."

The New Quinn snarled at her. "Well, duh."

"She's Fabray," Q supplied, hiking a thumb over her shoulder at Quinn. "Fabray, this is _Quinnie_."

The name seemed to be timeless, or _dimension_less and Q, Lucy, even Quinn laughed. "Oh, poor you."

The aforementioned Quinnie stuck her nose in the air, attempting to appear unruffled.

"She's dating Rachel," Lucy informed her.

Quinnie clutched at her chest in mortification. "Blasphemy!" she gasped.

Quinn winced. "My goodness, was I really like that?"

"Not necessarily," Q supplied, ever the informer. "As I'm sure you know, you've diverged from the celibate and, well, straight and narrow path."

A flush crept along both Quinn and Quinnie's faces.

"There are thousands, probably millions of us, based on decisions we made when we were five, eight, eleven, even up to yesterday."

"I can't believe you're dating a girl," Quinnie chastened while folding her arms. "And Rachel _Berry_? Immoral."

"That's what I'm saying!" Lucy chimed in. "How could you touch that-that _beast_?"

In a flash, Q swiveled around to face Lucy. "How about you shut your little—"

"All right. You know what? Who are you all dating? Huh?" Quinn challenged, acid dripping from her voice. "Besides you, Little Miss Cobwebs."

"Finn," Lucy announced with a whip of her ponytail.

For the first time in the span of however long Quinn had been unconscious, she watched Q grow anxious. "Puck."

Quinn nodded a little in understanding. "At least Puck has a job. What does Finn have?" she asked Lucy. "Besides popularity?"

Lucy glared daggers at her. "Popularity is _all_ that matters. Considering you're dating Rachel, I guess you've forgotten that." She looked around to the three others then grinned. "Actually, I'm the most popular Quinn here right now."

Quinnie gave a start. "Wait a minute, _I_ am!"

"You're popular alone," Lucy explained with a dismissive flick of her wrist. "I'm super popular because I'm dating the quarterback."

"Boned him, too," Q muttered under her breath.

Quinnie's eyes widened. "You did not!"

Quinn cackled. "Seriousy? Must have been an awful five minutes."

Lucy shrugged in discomfort. "I had to do something to stop that she-beast from sniffing around him."

Quinn stepped forward. "Look, you've got one more time—" Q grabbed her arm and whispered, "She's not worth it."

Quinnie's face remained stoic, though her lower lip began to tremble. "I can't believe you slept with him."

"Quit being such a cry baby," Lucy barked. "He's still a virgin in your world—maybe. But you actually have to make a move on him."

Quinnie gained an air of haughtiness as she looked down her nose at Lucy. "To be chaste is to be holy. Not that any of you would know."

"_Quinn? Honey? Are you still upstairs? Dinner's ready!"_

Quinn turned to the group. "That's my mom." She began to take a step back. "Look, it was nice meeting all of you, but I really have to go. Hope to never see any of you again."

Lucy folded her arms across her chest, while Quinnie scowled. Q chuckled. "Understandable. Take care, Fabray."

Quinn smiled. Perhaps—if this was all true—Q wasn't too bad after all. "Bye guys."

She turned away from them and walked to one of the four portals and into the light. After a moment, she was gone.

Immediately Quinnie felt her blood run cold. Distressed, she turned to the group with wide hazel eyes. "Guys?"

Q's chest heaved. "She went into the wrong portal, didn't she?"

"That's mine! I have to go to the Chastity Ball with daddy in an hour!" Quinnie cried.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You _still_ call that man daddy?"

"_Quinn? You awake, honey?"_

"Fuck!" Lucy sighed.

"Language."

"Oh, bite me, Goody-Goody."

"Do you even _remember_ the celibacy club motto? Or is your head only filled with chants of Finn's name?"

"Guys, shut up," Q reprimanded. "Fabray's mom is looking for her and one of us has to go into her world and be her."

Lucy took a step back. "A world where I'm locking lips with Berry? No way."

Quinnie looked uneasy. "Yeah, you should go since Man-Hands is your best friend."

Q looked between the two of them and sighed, knowing there was no way she could get out of this. "Fine. But the two of you owe me one."

Quinnie backed away from the group as Q stepped toward Fabray's portal.

Lucy hid an amused smile. "Don't enjoy yourself too much."

As Q stepped into the light, she extended her arm to give Lucy the middle finger.

When the portal closed, leaving only two, Lucy turned to her right to notice Quinnie wasn't there. "Really," she scoffed, turning around. "Did you leave me—" Lucy turned to find Quinnie at her portal. "What the hell, Quinnie?" she shrieked.

"I just want to kiss him, that's all," Quinnie rushed out in an anxious breath.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray," Lucy growled as she approached her. "You cannot have my boyfriend. You listen to me—no!"

But it was too late.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Close Encounters of the Same Kind

**Pairing: **Quinn/Rachel Berry; Quinn/Puck; Quinn Finn

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters. Just having a little fun.

**Summary: **While unconscious after hitting her head, Quinn is exposed to different versions of herself from other dimensions, living their own lives. After accidentally stepping into the wrong dimension, Quinn and the other versions of herself all swap in and out of each other's lives, yet somehow all arrive to very similar outcomes in their own lives.

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Hope you're all enjoying the ride. :) To the anon who left a flaming review last chapter about how I should have called Puck a rapist, had you have read any of my previous stories, it wouldn't be a surprise to you that I don't participate in character bashing. I try to stay true to the characters and how they view themselves and each other. So if you're looking for overt character bashing I strongly suggest you stop reading my fic and find another one.

* * *

When Quinn had any form of consciousness again, she was standing in a corner of her room, facing the wall. Once she was aware of her surroundings, she hopped back from the wall with a yelp, then groaned and clutched at her head. Remembering just how all of this started in the first place, Quinn ran to her bathroom and peered into the mirror. There was a tiny zigzag scar in her hairline on the right side of her head that sent a stab of pain through her skull upon contact.

Quinn swallowed heavily, fingers fidgeting at her side as her palms began to sweat. It had to have been a dream. All of it. She had hit her head, knocked herself unconscious, and dreamed the entire thing. Waking up in the corner of her room was nothing more than a case of sleepwalking. Studying her face once more, Quinn placed her hand down on the sink, knocking over a bottle.

She looked down at it and picked it up. "Neutrogena Acne Cleanser," she muttered. "I've never…" Her heart stopped.

"Quinnie?" Only then did Quinn register someone knocking on the bedroom door. "Quinnie, honey—it's your mom."

Quinn swiveled around to the doorway of her—(Quinnie's?)—bathroom, trying her hardest to breathe. "Yeah, mom?" she called. Her headache began to return full force as her vision swam.

"Honey, are you ready?"

Quinn gripped the sink. "Uh…" She looked around the bathroom then stumbled into the bedroom for cues as to what was going on. "What the hell?" she whispered to herself as her eyes roved over the room. The walls were yellow and on them hung photos of her and the Cheerios, her and the Celibacy Club.

Except this wasn't Quinn, at least not _this_ Quinn. Quinn reasoned it _had_ to be Quinnie's room since she highly doubted the other two were still in celibacy club.

Which meant—

"All of that was real," Quinn muttered.

"Okay, I'm coming in."

The bedroom door opened and in popped a familiar face. Judy Fabray waltzed into the room with a purpose as she cornered Quinn's half nude form. "Well, you managed to get _un_dressed," Judy griped. "Now how about getting _re_dressed."

Quinn gulped, uncertain what anything meant anymore. "Get dressed for what?"

Judy gawked at her as if she had grown two heads. "The Chastity Ball, dear! Your father's only been waiting your whole life for this very moment!"

Dread landed heavily in the pit of Quinn's stomach. Not the Chastity Ball again. She had gone through it the first time with her own father with relative ease, back when she was a naïve fourteen year old. But she was seventeen now, an informed feminist, and Chastity Balls went against everything she stood for as a sexually aware young woman. "O…okay," she responded anyway as Judy left her to pick her jaw up off the floor.

She re-appeared in front of Quinn with a flowy white dress that looked all too familiar. She just hoped she could still fit into it, both as a means to keep up appearances and for her own self-esteem's sake. "Now you have an hour to put this and your face on. Hurry, Quinn!"

Quinn held her arms up as Judy draped the dress over them. "Yes, mo—ma'am."

Judy shot her an odd look. Quinn's eyes widened in alarm that she somehow knew, when Judy leaned closer to pinch Quinn's cheeks. "So proud of my little girl's manners."

Quinn offered a shaky smile as Judy left the room.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she swore once the door closed. "I can't do this. I cannot do this." She dropped the dress on the floor and began to pace the room.

This was absolutely insane, possibly the worst day of her life, and Lucy Caboosey days were pretty damn dark.

And the most daunting part of it all was that Rachel, _her_ Rachel was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Quinnie wiggled off the extra dimensional matter as she came to in Lucy's bedroom. She turned around to face the room. Hands clasped behind her back, Quinnie walked into the space and surveyed her surroundings. The set-up between her room and Lucy's was very similar. The key difference, however, that was like a thorn in Quinnie's side, were the photos of Quinn and Finn hanging on the walls.

Quinnie marveled at how photogenic the pair looked together, how popular they must have been. Lucy dangled her popularity in Quinnie's face almost as much as she dangled Finn. Both made Quinnie's mouth water as she soaked in Finn's football uniform alongside Lucy's Cheerio uniform. They were quite the pair, Quinnie imagined. She wondered how good it must have felt for Lucy to strut down the hallway with someone on her arm. Strolling down the hallway alone felt great, but it was also a lonely feeling.

She had never thought herself the type to need companionship. But as she spied Lucy's cell phone on top of her bed, Quinnie began to wonder about the allure of a relationship.

Snickering at the fact that their passcodes were the same, Quinnie scrolled through Lucy's contacts. She scrolled through the list of contacts twice without finding Finn's name before deciding to chance the contact name _Idiot_.

"_Hello? Quinn?"_

Quinnie pursed her lips. "Bingo."

Finn chuckled on the other line. _"Wow, yeah. Thought you were mad at me."_

She tilted her head, not quite understanding their relationship. "And why is that, Finn?"

"'_Cause, you know—you caught me checking out Rachel today. Which I totally wasn't, by the way."_

Quinnie didn't know whether to laugh at Lucy's misfortune, or cry because she basically _was_ Lucy, and this really sucked. "Shut up, Finn."

He sighed. _"See? I knew you'd still be mad at me."_

Lip between her teeth, Quinnie's eyes found the walls as she attempted to muster up some bravery. This was likely the only opportunity she would get. And this conversation was going downhill very fast, if her rising irritation was any indication. "Finn…come get me."

"…_Yeah?"_

The eagerness in his voice made her throat tighten. "Yeah."

* * *

Lucy was livid. She was pretty positive she could strangle every Quinn in existence in this very moment—Quinnie for daring to steal her boyfriend, Q for the sole reason that she was stuck in her universe, and Fabray for causing this whole situation in the first place.

Boredom wreaked havoc on her as she surveyed the room in an attempt to distract herself. Q's room looked very similar to hers, and thus Lucy plopped down on the bed, unwilling to even explore.

She wondered briefly how long she was going to have to entertain this world because she honestly didn't think she could stand another second, especially since Quinnie was in her own with _her_ boyfriend.

The door to Q's room swung open with a _swoosh_ as Lucy entered the hallway. She heard the sounds of a television down the hallway and followed it to another bedroom. On the bed watching a game show, Judy sat with a box of chocolates by her side. Lucy watched the display before her with curious eyes. She had never encountered another Judy before, and the resemblance was uncanny. She looked just like Lucy's own mom, but she wasn't. Lucy's mom wouldn't be caught _dead_ eating chocolate—she was much too concerned about her figure.

Lucy gave a start when Judy spied her in the doorway and sat up straighter. "Quinn! You scared me."

Lucy offered an awkward, disarming smile, unsure of how to proceed. "Sorry?"

Judy shoved the box of chocolates to the side. "It's all right. Was there something you wanted?"

Curious, Lucy leaned further into the room, not quite crossing the threshold. "Just curious. Did…I have any plans tonight?"

Judy balked at the question. "Not that I know of. Though, you never really tell me of your plans."

Lucy nodded then pushed off the door frame. "Okay, thanks." She walked down the hallway then muttered to herself. "What a loser," in regards to Q.

She walked back into the room and plopped down face first on the bed. There was a tinkle of noise that came from beside her and Lucy outstretched her hand to grope blindly along the bed. She came in contact with Q's phone and turned her head to find the source of the noise.

Lucy rolled her eyes so hard she thought they would fall out.

It was a text message from Rachel, and a missed call from Puck.

Lucy pressed the button atop the phone until it turned off then she placed Q's phone on the nightstand.

* * *

Russell turned to Quinn with an eager smile. "It's time," he informed her in a hushed tone. She felt incredibly claustrophobic, smothered between him, Judy, and their joint enthusiasm. The only thing getting her through this ordeal was the fact that she could still fit into the dress, and that it was the same size as it was when she had to wear it in her own dimension.

Quinn rolled her eyes at herself. Now she was starting to sound like _them_ with all this dimension talk, and she still wasn't sure if she even believed all of this yet. But nothing else could explain why it felt like she was reliving her past. Plus, Quinn had scrolled through Quinnie's contacts—thankfully they had the same password, and…there were no messages exchanged between her and Rachel. No phone calls.

Nothing.

It made her heart palpitate to just think about. And as illogical as it was, as much as she flat out didn't want to, Quinn _had_ to believe in the multiple dimensions theory.

It was the only thing that gave her hope that she would see Rachel soon, or at all. As soon as she figured out how to get out of here.

She jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of Russell reaching for the door handle as the limo parked alongside the road. She felt a strong hand land gently on her arm and turned to find Russell staring at her. "I'm so proud of you for taking this pledge, sweetheart."

Letting the comment hang in the air, he climbed out of the car and walked to the other side.

Judy patted Quinn's leg. "This is a very big step, you know. Your father really wanted you to do this at fifteen, but I made him wait a few years until you could really understand the weight of promising to keep your virginity until your wedding night," she explained. "It's a very serious pledge, Quinn. Not one an uninformed child should make." The car door opened, and Judy glanced away from Quinn to place her hand atop Russell's waiting palm before stepping out of the limo. Quinn swallowed heavily as she scooted down the seat to place her hand on Russell's. She grabbed a handful of her dress and stepped out of the limo.

Quinn was instructed to hold Russell's arm as all three of them walked through a doorway being held open for them and into what appeared to be a ballroom. There were tables arranged in a wide circle with a man standing at a podium patiently waiting for everyone to file in. Quinn followed Russell's lead as he ushered them all to a table. He first held out a chair for Judy to sit, then Quinn before he positioned himself between them and took a seat.

Quinn looked around at the other families as she waited for this so-called 'esteemed speaker' to open his mouth. There were girls as young as seven who were dressed up in white dresses, waiting to pledge something they didn't even understand to their fathers. Quinn felt sick. It wasn't fair to make a child go through this. It wasn't even fair to make _her_ go through this, again.

The distinct sound of something tapping a microphone caught everyone's attention, and Quinn looked to the front as the speaker, Dr. Crow—she had remembered—began to speak.

"Today we all gather to celebrate the annual tradition of the Purity Ball." Everyone in the room began to clap their hands, and Russell shot Quinn a stern look when she didn't join along. Quinn brought her hands together once in an inaudible clap before placing them in her lap again.

"The Purity Ball had humble beginnings just over ten years ago in Colorado as a celebration of our daughters, and our duties as fathers to protect their virginity."

"Give me a fucking break," Quinn whispered to herself, trying her hardest not to slouch in her seat. It was going to be a long night.

Ignoring a large portion of the keynote speaker's speech, Quinn only roused when Russell touched her elbow. She looked up to find him staring down at her. "Ready to dance?"

Swallowing the bile in her throat, Quinn accepted his hand yet again and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. They stood close as they began to waltz. Quinn followed his lead effortlessly as the steps began to come back to her. Her dress flowed around them as they twirled on the dance floor.

Quinn spotted a pearl in the corner of Russell's eye and looked away as her heart tightened. This wasn't her dad. This was Quinnie's. The last time Quinn had even seen her dad was a little over a month ago when he came by to pick up the bible Judy had told him he left. But Quinnie's dad smelled just like her own, and he sounded like hers.

A pearl formed in her own eyes and, taking that as tears of happiness brought upon by this moment, Russell hugged her close. "I know," he assured. "It's an emotional time for me, too. I still remember Frannie's like it was yesterday."

Quinn's mouth lay agape as she recalled the memory of Frannie's Chastity Ball for the first time. Frannie had been unimpressed by it all, a wayward teenager who still managed to color inside the lines. She and Quinn had never seen eye to eye because of how much of a product of her parents Quinn had been when Frannie still lived in the house. She wondered how close, if at all, she and Frannie could be now, now that Quinn had a mind of her own.

"All right, all right, fathers and daughters," Dr. Crow called.

Emotionally exhausted with still a bit of a headache, Quinn wavered a bit on her feet as she attempted to prepare herself for this.

"Now it's time, dads, for you to pledge your authority and protection to your daughters."

His very words made Quinn sick.

"So go on, dads, and let your daughters know!"

Russell turned to Quinn and grabbed both of her hands. "I, Lucy Quinn Fabray's father, choose to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the area of purity. I will be pure in my own life as a man, husband and father. I will be a man of integrity and accountability as I lead, guide and pray over my daughter and my family as the high priest in my home."

Quinn gave him a very tight-lipped smile. "Thanks…dad."

"Okay, daughters, it's time. Time for womanhood, time to pledge yourselves to your fathers until you pledge yourself to your husband."

It was like a vow to constantly belong to someone for the rest of her life, and Quinn couldn't shake the feeling of exclusion regarding how heterosexual this entire process was.

"I, Lucy Quinn Fabray," Quinn began with an unsure voice, "pledge to always maintain a purity of body, mind, and soul. I promise my virginity to my father until I am to marry."

The pseudo-incestuous nature of the entire process made her sick, and once it was all over, Russell pulled her close in an embrace, followed by Judy, who gave Russell a wide berth before she swooped in.

It was difficult, watching the signs of the impending divorce that Quinn knew was coming. Except maybe it wasn't. Quinn wasn't reliving the past; Judy had already mentioned Quinnie was seventeen, too. So maybe this dimension's Judy and Russell were going to stay together.

But as Russell met Judy's eyes before walking away to take an apparently private call, and while the light in Judy's eyes began to dim, Quinn wasn't sure just staying together was much of a better option.

"All right, Quinnie," Russell cajoled as he walked back over to them. "I'm gonna have to take a rain check on the celebratory dinner, okay?"

This wasn't even her own father, and Quinn grew livid.

Maybe because this _was_ her own father. Maybe because it didn't matter what dimension she fell into, Russell was always going to be a piss-poor father and husband. "No, actually, dad. That won't be okay."

Her throat was tight and her words were garbled, but damn it, Quinn had a voice. She had the voice she didn't have three years ago. She had a voice that Rachel had crawled into the darkest depths of her and pulled out, because if there was one thing Quinn Fabray had learned, it was to sweep things under the rug. It was to not speak on pressing issues. It was to ignore her own pain if it meant that she got to keep up appearances.

But the absolute _last_ thing she was about to do was allow Russell to run away to some floosy after he had just pledged to live a pure life as a husband and father in order to set an example for his daughter.

Russell and Judy were both shocked by Quinn's outburst. No one moved or said a word for several seconds. Then Russell cleared his throat. He gave Quinn a tight smile. "Okay. Just…let me move some things around in my schedule."

Quinn returned his smile with one of her own. "Great."

* * *

Q found she liked Quinn's room. It was tidy, except for the heap of Cheerio outfit on the floor that Q guessed was where Quinn hit her head and conked out. There was nothing distinguishable regarding the room, yet there was a simple charm to how nearly obsessively tidy it was.

Her eyes skated across the photos adorning Quinn's wall, a key person missing in particular. Their father—well, _Quinn's_ father. But still, Q understood, and her head tilted in wonder. She crept toward the door, jiggling the handle to ensure it was locked before pressing her face to the cool wood.

The house sounded eerily quiet, and after a few more seconds of surveying, Q opened the door and stepped outside.

"Quinn!"

Q yelped at the sound of her own name and clutched her chest as she leaned back against the now closed door. It took her several seconds to find her voice and when she did, it sounded strangled to her own ears. "Yes?"

"I've been calling you for what feels like hours, dear. Dinner's ready!"

The voice came from down the hallway, likely down the stairs as Q assumed that this dimension's Quinn still lived in the same house she did. Heart slowly restoring itself to normalcy, Q stood from the door and began venturing down the hallway. "Coming!"

She rounded the corner toward the stairs and heard Judy's voice hum a tune as she descended. Q didn't know what to expect, but the possibility of Judy looking like _anything_ terrified her. Stepping into the dining room, Q found an older woman preparing the table. As if sensing her presence, Judy turned around to Q with a small smile and admonishing eyes. Q had never met anyone other than a Fabray who could convey two different messages and emotions with just their face. "Quinn, how lovely to finally see you."

Q stood awkwardly in the doorway as a familiar pair of eyes pinned her where she stood. "Sorry, I got a little caught up upstairs."

With a flick of her hand, Judy directed Q across the table to sit. "And just what were you doing? I didn't hear a shower running. Yet...you've changed clothes."

Unsure of whether or not Judy knew about Rachel, Q decided to play it safe. She slid into a seat and looked down to the food prepared. "I, umm, had a cramp," she explained. "Took a while to walk off. And my Cheerio clothes...had dirt on them. So I wanted to...change."

Judy began preparing a plate, and Q sat quietly as she watched her work, unsure of whether or not she was supposed to wait or dig in as well.

"What have I told you about cramps, Quinn Fabray?"

Q froze, her lips mashed together as she attempted to feel her way through this. "Massage them out?"

"And walking a cramp out is only going to cause you pain in the long run; that's right."

Q exhaled a small sigh of relief. It was something her own mother had told her back when she was a Cheerio, and though she probably should have been creeped out by the eeriness of it all, she had been dealing with multiple dimensions for a while now. Hardly anything surprised her.

Judy handed her the plate she had been preparing and Quinn took it graciously, though she waited until Judy was done preparing her own plate to dig in.

"Say grace, dear," Judy instructed once she sat down with her own plate.

Q stopped short of grabbing her fork to tear into the chicken on her plate. It had been a while since she had said grace. "Umm…" She dipped into the back of her mind for a prayer and recited it with precision that surprised her.

Judy looked up with a smile. "Amen."

* * *

Back stiff, Quinnie sat quietly in the passenger seat while Finn drove them to Make-Out Point. She had barely said a word to him the whole ride, and it confused her as to why her silence didn't rouse suspicion within Finn. He seemed content with knowing that he was mere minutes away from getting action and thus uninterested in conversation or lack thereof.

He turned off the main road onto a gravel road that crackled under the weight of the truck. Quinnie peered at Finn from the corner of her eye as he drove in silence with rock music blaring. There wasn't anything particularly appealing now that she was on the inside. His popularity didn't extend to one-on-one sessions, at least not that she saw. He was just an average boy who seemed to lack conversation that didn't relate to boobs, butts, and vagina—of which Quinnie was at least happy to have two of three.

They came to a stop at the peak of a hill and Finn killed the engine before turning to Quinnie and draping an arm around the back of the seat. "So…"

She watched him undo his seatbelt, and her eyes focused curiously on his pants before glancing up at him. "So?"

After seconds of inaction and looks of constipation, Quinnie realized he was waiting for her to make a move. It was only then that she realized…she had never kissed anyone. That this would be her first time—with a boy whom she truthfully didn't know. She didn't even know the Finn of her own world; there was no way she knew this one.

She angled her body toward him to encourage a take-charge nature within him because the last thing Quinnie, virgin president of the celibacy club, knew how to do it was make moves on someone. She grew impatient under the weight of his wide-eyed stare and tried a different approach. "Are you going to just _stare_ at me all evening, or do something?"

"Oh! Uh—" Immediately he was in motion, and Quinnie leaned back as Finn adjusted himself in the car that looked two sizes too small for his frame. "I, uh, brought—you know—condoms."

Quinnie frowned deeply. "What kind of girl do you take me for?"

Finn's jaw dropped. "Oh, no, nothing, Quinn. _No_ kind of girl. I mean, you're obvs a girl. You've got, you know, boobs. Small boobs, but they're pretty, you know?"

And Quinnie didn't really know what turned her _on_, but in that moment she was pretty positive that she had never been more turned _off_ than right now.

"Just _shut-up_, Finn—_gosh_."

Finn's mouth clacked shut. "I-I'm sorry, Quinn."

He seemed genuinely nervous, but Quinnie was almost positive it was due to the fact that he was worried his chances of getting some under the sweater action had completely diminished.

"If we're—" she sighed. "If we're going to do this, Finn, I need you to keep your mouth shut." She cut him a cold look. "Think you can do that?"

He nodded dumbly. "Yeah, totally."

Quinnie unbuckled her seatbelt in resolution, because damn it she came all the way here—to Make-Out Point and across dimensions, not to mention she had completely missed her _Chastity_ _Ball_—to see what it felt like to kiss him, and she was damn well going to find out.

Long story short, she was probably going to Hell.

"Good." Quinnie leaned back against the window of the car and beckoned Finn closer with a crook of her finger. "Come here, Finn."

* * *

In a completely separate dimension, locked away in Q's room, Lucy froze as dread shot down her spine. "No…" She spun around in space, feeling constricted by the walls of a room that wasn't hers. "No." Her lips curled back into a sneer. "That little bitch did _not_!"

* * *

They ate dinner in relative silence as Q attempted to make sense of everything that had transpired since they had all met Quinn. She wondered how they were all fairing, especially Quinn who was new to the subject of multiple dimensions. Q pitied the fact that Quinn had to relive the chastity ball.

But wait—

That meant Quinnie wasn't in her own world. Which meant that she had to be displaced in another. Which meant—

"Holy—"

Q stopped short when Judy glanced up at her, nearly daring her with her eyes to finish that train of thought.

"…crap," Q continued. She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with the napkin and scooted her chair back. "I just remembered that…I have a lot of homework."

Judy, too, dabbed at the corners of her mouth before smiling. "So studious. Normally I'm opposed to you leaving the table before dinner is over. But I suppose homework is a good enough excuse."

Q nodded in thanks before hastily standing from her seat. "Thank you." She turned to leave but hesitated then turned back to Judy. "Dinner was delicious."

She jetted upstairs and into Quinn's room before closing the door. Q held fast to the doorknob as her breathing grew short. This was a screw-up and a half now that she had wrapped her mind around it.

She wondered who was in her world, Quinnie or Lucy. Quinnie was the logical option since Lucy could very well have just gone back to her own dimension, and there was something about that annoying tightwad being in her world that didn't sit right with Q.

The sound of _Yellow_ by Coldplay suddenly began bouncing off the walls, and Q gave a start at the sound of it before her heart immediately synchronized with the tempo. It was her favorite song after all. She smiled a little at Quinn's taste in music as she walked closer to the sound—Quinn's phone.

Q swallowed at the sight of the name that flashed across the screen. Rachel's name appeared with a tiny heart beside it, simplicity stating Quinn's affections.

Inexplicably terrified, Q reached down and grabbed the phone. She swiped the screen to answer then held the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

Her voice sounded uncertain even to her own ears.

"_Hi, Quinn."_

Q's breath hiccupped. "Rachel…hi."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Close Encounters of the Same Kind

**Pairing: **Quinn/Rachel Berry; Quinn/Puck; Quinn Finn

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters. Just having a little fun.

**Summary: **While unconscious after hitting her head, Quinn is exposed to different versions of herself from other dimensions, living their own lives. After accidentally stepping into the wrong dimension, Quinn and the other versions of herself all swap in and out of each other's lives, yet somehow all arrive to very similar outcomes in their own lives.

* * *

It was all oddly normal for Q, waking up on a school day morning and getting dressed. Strutting downstairs to grab breakfast before driving to school was even common place. But Q gave pause at the way Judy was staring at her.

"Umm…" Q swallowed a bite of her bacon and egg sandwich nervously. "Hi—good morning…mom." This wasn't the first Judy that wasn't her own mother that Q had encountered. However, these were the first pair of sharp, crystal clear eyes she had seen. Granted she hadn't met many Judys. But the ones she had met had listless eyes, dulled by glass after glass of sangria. They never cared to notice much, because they spent so much time in their own heads.

"I thought you were on an all liquid diet for the Cheerios? Yet last night you ate an entire plate of food I prepared like a starving child and now you're back on bacon?"

…Unless it came to their daughters and physical appearances.

"Oh, umm…"

"And…where's your Cheerios uniform?" Judy's brow crinkled. "Are you no longer a Cheerio, Quinn?"

"Oh, umm…" Q repeated dumbly. "Yes, yes, I'm still a Cheerio." Unsure, she placed the sandwich on a plate and began backing away. "I just…forgot my uniform. My brain's really scattered. I've got midterms coming soon."

Judy stared at her as if she had grown two heads. "But the school quarter's barely started."

Q mentally cursed herself for how knowledgeable Quinn's mother seemed to be. "So it did," she conceded through clenched teeth. "Forgive me, mother, I think my mind is just somewhere else today. I'll go get my uniform now." With that, Q turned on her heel and hotfooted out of the kitchen.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a completely different person, Quinn," Judy called after her, mystified.

"You have no idea," Q sighed to herself.

Embarrassed, she took to the stairs to find her—_Quinn's_ uniform. She spied the one on the floor and picked it up with an amused smile. She turned to the closet, dumped the used uniform in the hamper in the corner then grabbed a new one.

"Slitting my wrists if I don't fit into this," she grumbled. The chastised herself, "Self-harm isn't funny, Quinn." She shimmied into the skirt and top then zipped both and smiled secretly to herself in victory.

"Quinn, you're going to be late!"

Q nearly tripped over herself stumbling out of the room. "Coming, mom!"

The ponytail would have to wait.

* * *

Q didn't know why she expected this dimension's McKinley High to look any different but she wondered. But as she parked Quinn's car and stepped out, she couldn't detect any noticeable differences.

"What's up, bitch!"

Except that.

Q tensed up on instinct, jaw tight as she turned around. She recognized that voice anywhere.

Santana Lopez came swaggering up to her until they were face to face. "Britts and Berry are already inside."

Q's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Misinterpreting Q's reaction, Santana sighed. "Fine, _Rachel_. Lighten up, Q."

Her eyes widened as her heart began to palpitate at the mention of the nickname. There was no possible way that Santana knew.

"W-what?" Q sputtered.

Santana cut her a look. "Geez, Quinn, chill. You have a bad dream or something? You're paler that usual."

Oh.

Q was a general nickname for all the Quinns, which was why Q chose it in the first place. It was her nickname. But it was also the nickname of Quinn from this dimension. Nearly a year of dealing with this and Q had forgotten something so fundamental.

But for some reason, she was finding it hard to process anything at the moment. She had accounted for Rachel, Judy, Russell, even Puck and Finn. But Santana hadn't been a variable Q had factored in.

"What's going on?"

Q's head whipped around to the voice of her best friend.

"Ask your weirdo girlfriend," Santana groused.

And then Q remembered.

"Quinn? Are you okay?" Rachel asked as she approached.

This wasn't her best friend.

"Umm, yeah." Q cleared her throat in an attempt to project her voice. "Yes."

This was Quinn's girlfriend.

Q stared down at such a painfully similar face to the one she knew. "I'm okay."

She was surprised to feel disappointed.

But she forced a smile.

"Sorry I had a really bizarre dream last night," she explained. "Seeing Santana just reminded me of it."

Rachel seemed to pour out sympathy through her eyes. "What was your dream about?"

Q smiled down at the stranger who looked so familiar. "I'll tell you about it later."

Rachel smiled encouragingly. "All right. Well shall we head to class? The late bell will ring soon."

Brittany shifted from foot to foot. "I can't have another homeroom tardy."

Q swallowed at the warmth that was Rachel's hand sliding down her arm. It squeezed her own gently before sliding between her fingers with practiced ease.

Releasing a calming breath, Q blinked slowly.

Santana grinned. "Haven't gotten any in a while?"

Rachel frowned deeply as Santana laughed, while Q attempted to wrap her head around Santana's question. She knew nothing of Quinn and Rachel's sex life other than Quinn had seen her nude.

"Have some class, Santana," Rachel retorted. She tugged on Q's hand to walk away. "Anyway," Rachel hedged as they walked into the school. "How are you this morning?"

"Good," Q responded, acquainting herself with her surroundings. She attempted to allow Rachel to lead, unaware of where they were headed. "I feel a little…off today. But otherwise, I'm great."

Rachel squeezed her hand and nodded. "I, too, seem to be off my A game today. I seemed to lose steam halfway through my morning work-out." She gesticulated with her hands. "Completely threw off my whole morning."

Q laughed. "Well I certainly hope you can get back on track."

Rachel seemed to grow shy under Q's scrutiny. "Me, too." Her steps slowed and Q followed. "Well, this is my class. I'll pick you up from homeroom?"

Q couldn't help but smile. "That sounds great."

"Okay."

Q's eyes widened when, in a flash, Rachel's lips were pressed against the corner of her mouth. She stood stock-still as Rachel pulled away.

"Bye, Quinn!"

Q reached forward. "Wait—Rachel!"

Rachel turned to find Q staring at her. "What's wrong, Quinn?"

"Umm...could you tell me where my homeroom is?"

Bemused, Rachel stepped closer. Her hand cupped Q's forehead. "What's going on with you this morning?"

Q shrugged. "Just an off day."

The late bell sounded.

Rachel lightly shoved Quinn. "You have to hurry. Down the hall, third door on your right," she rushed out.

Q nodded. "Okay, thanks."

Rachel grabbed Q's hand before she walked away. "I know things have been weird between us as of late. But…I wanted to let you know that I love you, Quinn."

Q inhaled a deep breath, unease settling within her. "I love you, too."

Rachel smiled. "We'll talk soon."

The weight of her words hung on Q's shoulders as Rachel walked into her classroom. This wasn't even her life, yet she already began to feel guilty for being privy to things that were distinctly Quinn's privilege to know.

After leaving Rachel in her class, Q followed her instructions to make it to homeroom. She kept her head low and walked briskly to a desk in the back of the room.

Once she was in a seat, Q breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes slipped shut for a brief moment of solitude.

"'Sup, baby mama?"

Q felt her heart stop. But she had prepared for this moment, so she smoothed her features then looked up at the person towering over her seated form.

"Hi, Puck."

* * *

Quinn held the gavel loosely in her hand. She didn't want to be here. This was, for lack of a better term, so _high school_.

She eavesdropped on Santana and Brittany's conversations about the separate dates they were going on this weekend and, for the first time, Quinn noticed that their tones of voices conveyed jealousy and hurt feelings instead of envy.

The room grew silent and Quinn turned to the door to find Rachel Berry timidly walking in amongst the jeering cheerleaders.

It all suddenly felt like a blast from the past and Quinn again couldn't help but wonder if the portal she had stepped in to was a time machine.

"What are you doing back here, Man-Hands?" Santana barked.

Quinn felt herself release a breath. This wasn't the past. It just felt that way because she was so far removed from this point in her life while Quinnie still seemed to be right in the thick of it.

Clearing her throat, Quinn addressed this dimension's Rachel who wasn't her girlfriend. "Yeah, what are you…why are you back here?"

She watched the way Rachel stood a little taller once she was addressed, and hid a smile. Quinn didn't have the heart to make Rachel's life hell. Not when she was technically dating her—a _different_ her, but her all the same. Besides, the way Rachel tugged at her skirt tugged at Quinn's heartstrings because she recognized it for the nervous habit it was.

"While I do find the concept of a celibacy club to be, pardon my language, ass-backwards—"

Quinn smiled in amusement, and Rachel paused, utterly confused. Clearing her throat, she surged on. "Anyway, despite that this club purports outlandishly inaccurate statistics regarding sex and sexually transmitted diseases—not to mention the fact that this club doesn't account for the sex lives of those within the LGBTQI community—"

Brittany gasped. "She doesn't know all of her alphabets either!" she whispered to Santana.

Quinn could barely contain her eye roll.

"Wait," another cheerleader cut in, "you're gay?"

"I have two gay dads," Rachel readily responded.

"You didn't answer the question," Quinn playfully goaded. "Are you gay?"

Rachel began to squirm as the Cheerios snickered at her expense and Quinn was suddenly reminded that this wasn't her world. She and the Rachel of this world weren't dating. They weren't even friends if Quinnie's and Rachel's current behavior were anything to go on. And jokes like this just seemed cruel without the context of them dating.

Pursing her lips and completely aware of everyone's unwavering gaze, Quinn flicked her hand dismissively at Rachel. "Forget it. Just…sit down and join the club. And try not to force any of your sexual opinions down our throats."

Rachel shook her head. "How comically hypocritical," she mumbled under her breath.

Quinn pretended not to hear her.

"Or your gay opinions," Santana quipped.

Quinn scoffed at the comment and Santana shot her a look that Quinn realized was equal parts bewildered, anxious, and challenging.

Shaking her head, Quinn turned to face forward. She was not about to help a Santana from a different universe out of the closet. Right now all she wanted to do was go home.

But she didn't know how to get home.

So until she figured it out or another Quinn came to get her, she was stuck. She had to play her part.

And if it was one thing high school had taught and was still teaching Quinn, it was that Rachel Berry wasn't the only one who could act.

"Okay." The gavel struck and no one said a word. "The celibacy club is now in session," Quinn began. "Welcome back, Rachel."

Rachel visibly fidgeted under the intensity of Quinn's stare but maintained eye contact regardless.

* * *

"She has to be the most boring Quinn to ever exist," Lucy mumbled to herself as she sat in the back of the school bus. "No car, no quarterback boyfriend. Like, honestly, sterilize yourself."

Plopping back against the seat, Lucy stared out the window. "While that virgin slut gets to make-out with _my_ boyfriend whom I fought so hard to secure," she continued to grumble to herself. Then she sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "Slut-shaming is bad, Q; you know this."

The bus slowed to turn and Lucy looked up to find herself at school. "Finally," she sighed. She stepped off the bus and stood to the side to survey her surroundings.

Her eyes instantly locked on Finn and Rachel walking into the building together and Lucy thought she'd lose it.

Then she remembered.

This wasn't her dimension.

Finn wasn't her man.

Puck was.

Well, he wasn't _hers_. He was Q's, but Lucy was playing that part right now.

Speaking of Puck…

"Oh, hell no," Lucy mumbled to herself. Standing several yards away was Noah Puckerman, Q's boyfriend, surrounded by a group of giggling girls.

Lucy stormed over to him, hands brazenly on her hips as if she had caught her own boyfriend in the act. "What the hell is going on here?"

The girls at least had the decency to take their hands off of him, but remained by his side as Puck smoothly slid past them toward Lucy. "Quinn, babe, what are you doing here? Your bus usually takes another ten minutes."

And just like that, Lucy was reminded that this wasn't her life, or her problem. She glared at the girls then looked up at Puck and shrugged. "Screw it. Do whatever or _whom_ever you want, Puckerman." Without waiting for another word, Lucy walked away.

She had taken care to write down Q's schedule and was nose deep in it when she rounded the corner and—

"Oww, geez!"

—walked directly into Finn.

Hazel eyes widened as Lucy took him in. "You scared me," she murmured to herself, acquainting herself with familiar features.

Finn's face morphed into a friendly smile, with a mild wince of pain. "Sorry about that."

Lucy waved him off. "Oh, don't worry about that. I totally should have been paying attention to where I was going."

Finn's jaw dropped. "Oh—okay."

The smile on Lucy's face grew tight. How could she have screwed this up already? "What's wrong?"

Finn shrugged. "It's just—you're not always nice to me."

Lucy frowned at the implication that she—well, _Q_—wasn't nice. "I see. Gotta go, Finn." She spun on her heel and walked away from him, too.

"Aww, man," Finn whined after her. "What'd I do now?"

Lucy stomped down the hallway to her homeroom, and plopped down at a desk. Her shoulders shifted as a sigh escaped her. It was time to go home. Q could have her two-timing, girl-juggling boyfriend; Lucy just wanted her Finn back. Not to mention her uniform. She felt so naked without it—wearing a Plain Jane dress and looking just like every other girl at school.

"There you are!"

Lucy gritted her teeth as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. That voice, it was nails on a chalkboard.

"Quinn Fabray, I've been trying so hard to get in touch with you," Rachel admitted in a soft voice as she came to rest in a desk beside Lucy. "Where have you been?"

And Lucy desperately wanted to tell her that she had the wrong Quinn, but their multi-dimensional existence was a secret they all promised to keep.

So instead of telling Rachel to screw off, Lucy instead had to pretend to be Q instead.

"Sorry, I've been busy," she informed her curtly.

Rachel's expression fell. "Oh…okay." Her bottom lip was worried between her teeth as she broke eye contact with Lucy. "Well, I—let me know when you have time for me."

She began to walk away and Lucy sighed audibly and stood from her seat. "Look, I just don't…feel like myself today. That's all."

Spinning on her heels, Rachel met Lucy with bright eyes. She looked her up and down as she approached, making Lucy feel even more naked than even her lack of Cheerio uniform attire did. "I'm so sorry, Quinn," Rachel whispered for privacy when another student walked in. "Sometimes I get so caught up in myself that I forget. Did you have an episode?"

Her expression was one of extreme concern that more than put Lucy on edge. "I'm sorry, what?" she babbled, eyes bulging out of her head.

Other students filed in as the late bell rang, and Rachel began to back away. "We'll talk about it after class, I promise."

Befuddled, Lucy slumped back in her seat as the teacher began to call roll. She stared hard at the wooden desk as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Q had episodes, which pretty much meant—

"I have to embody a psychopath?" she harshly whispered to herself. "What kind of sick world is this?"

"Quinn Fabray?"

"Present," Lucy answered reflexively. She avoided Rachel's smiling face, and looked back down at her desk once more.

* * *

Quinnie clung to Finn's arm as she strutted down the hallway of McKinley High. The heady feeling of popularity made her lightheaded. She was used to the jealous glares from girls who wanted her popularity, but she had never before received glares from girls who wanted her boyfriend.

One girl in particular.

"Ru-Paul," Quinnie greeted Rachel. Her smile turned feral as she walked past. Even in this dimension she was top dog.

With a lumbering arm draped around her neck like this fall's mink line, Quinnie rounded the corner with a new level of confidence she hadn't even known existed.

"Well, this is my stop, babe."

Perplexed, Quinnie's feet stuttered to a stop alongside Finn. Her mouth was agape as she looked around for clues as to why this was happening. "Your stop?"

He grinned down at her. "Yeah, this is my classroom. You forgot or something?"

Quinnie blanked. She had gotten so caught up in her newfound heights of popularity she had forgotten that school was actually a place for _learning_, not showing off eye candy. "Hmm, yes," she mumbled to herself. "I guess I did forget."

His smile grew dopier by the second and Quinnie couldn't shake the feeling she was being made fun of. "What?" she snapped.

Finn recoiled. "Nothing, it's just…you never forget things."

"Well, maybe I'm having an off day, Finn," Quinnie retorted. "Look, just walk me to class. Please."

Finn feebly pointed to his classroom door as Quinnie dragged him further down the hall. "But it's Mrs. Bryce's pre-calc class! You know where that is!"

Quinnie rounded on him with flaming hazel eyes. "Finn, don't you love me?"

Her saccharine sweet voice disarmed him, and he offered a cautious smile. "Of course I do."

In a second Quinnie was pulling him along again. "Then walk me to class."

* * *

With narrowed hazel eyes, Quinn watched Rachel from the safety of her locker. It was bizarre how similar the Rachel from this dimension and her own girlfriend looked. The only difference Quinn could point out from across the hallway was that this Rachel didn't have bangs; hers did. But they both had long tan legs barely concealed by short skirts that Quinn just knew broke the dress code. How either Rachel managed to get around that was a mystery to her.

A distinct lack of Rachel in her life was definitely the biggest difference between this world and the world Quinn called home. She had forgotten how far outside her circle Rachel had been before they started dating. They had never bumped shoulders unless Quinn wanted them to, and she could already tell this dimension was much the same way. The entire day had been filled with Quinnie's phone firing off with text messages from seemingly everyone except who Quinn wanted to talk to. Though she highly doubted cross-dimension phone calls could be made, so even this dimension's Rachel texting Quinnie's phone wouldn't be enough.

She spied Rachel walking into the girls' bathroom and, looking to her left and right, Quinn walked across the hallway and into the bathroom herself. She checked to see that the bathroom was empty save for a pair of Mary Janes then stopped by a mirror to survey her appearance. Her ponytail was in place, mascara elongating her eyelashes, and her cheeks were an innocent shade of rosy red.

The toilet flushed, and Quinn felt butterflies flutter in her stomach when the stall door opened to reveal Rachel Berry. She took one look at Quinn then walked to the furthest sink to wash her hands.

Quinn attempted to bounce back from the obvious snub with a smile that was equal parts disarming and arrogant. "Hi."

Rachel froze from shaking her hands dry. She turned off the faucet then reached to her side to grab paper towels from the dispenser. "I'm surprised to know you're aware of my existence outside of glee and the celibacy club, Quinn."

Cocking her hip out, Quinn leaned against the sink counter. "Yeah, that did surprise me," she admitted. At this point, nearly everything about this dimension surprised her. "Why did you rejoin the celibacy club?"

Rachel balled the paper towels in her hand and walked forward to deposit them in the trash. Their eyes met as Rachel walked past and Quinn spun around in an attempt to maintain eye contact with the closest thing she could get to the Rachel she had fallen in love with.

"I have my reasons," was all Rachel allowed. She hesitated by the trash can, eyes intently focusing on Quinn. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Well…it's _my_ club," Quinn sassed back in an attempt to save face. "And it's not a revolving door, Berry. It's a _commitment_. So either you're in or you're out."

Rachel seemed startled by the conviction in Quinn's words, and Quinn eased her posture in response. It was quiet for a long moment as Rachel studied her. Quinn fought her hardest to maintain eye contact, but in the end glanced away in an attempt to avoid giving anything away.

"I'm in," Rachel finally uttered.

Quinn nodded. "Okay." Her eyes tracked the way Rachel's tongue nervously darted out to wet her bottom lip.

"Okay," Rachel echoed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **Close Encounters of the Same Kind

**Pairing: **Quinn/Rachel Berry; Quinn/Puck; Quinn Finn

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters. Just having a little fun.

**Summary: **While unconscious after hitting her head, Quinn is exposed to different versions of herself from other dimensions, living their own lives. After accidentally stepping into the wrong dimension, Quinn and the other versions of herself all swap in and out of each other's lives, yet somehow all arrive to very similar outcomes in their own lives. 

* * *

"Quinn, your friend is here!"

Q released a long breath as she continued to pace the room. The week had been simple enough. She had managed to slip into Quinn's life with minor hiccups here and there, all the while dying to get back to the only safe haven in this universe—Quinn's room. And she had nearly gotten off the hook for the day until Rachel insisted she come over after school to 'talk'.

What talking entailed, Q wasn't sure. All she knew was that whatever she was going to be privy to was probably none of her business yet again.

Light knocking at the door pulled her out of her reverie, and Q turned to find Rachel peeking her head in. "May I come in?"

"Yeah—yes, of course," Q insisted as she walked over to the door. She opened it further to allow Rachel entry. "Hi."

Rachel giggled at Q's stiff posture. "So formal."

Q shrugged, unsure of what to say as she closed the door. The familiarity Rachel displayed as she walked straight to Quinn's bed and sat down surprised Q. Slowly she stepped forward and glanced around for another place to sit.

"What are you doing?"

Q met Rachel's eyes, the bemusement set deep into her irises prominent.

"Sit here," Rachel instructed before Q could answer, patting the space beside her.

Spine ram-rod straight, Q walked toward the bed and sat down beside Rachel. Her hands folded neatly into her lap as she looked at Rachel then looked away. "What was it—" Q cleared her throat and tried again. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

From the corner of her eye, Q watched Rachel duck her head and begin to fiddle with her fingers. Curious, Q finally turned to watch her. She looked so similar to her best friend it was mesmerizing. She even occupied space the way her best friend did—small and unassuming yet loud and boisterous all at once. And much like her best friend, this Rachel was able to catch Q's attention with little to no effort.

But this wasn't Q's best friend. This wasn't the girl she had shared countless memories with. Nights at each other's houses, after school homework sessions, double dates, countless shared secrets—this wasn't _Rachel_.

And the realization that every time she saw this Rachel, _her_ Rachel would be in her mind, Q found she couldn't stay here much longer.

"Quinn, I—"

They sounded painfully similar, and Q felt drawn to Rachel's voice. Their eyes found one another, and Rachel's breath caught in her throat. "Quinn, I—you're wonderful, _so_ wonderful."

Q's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"And these past eight months have meant more to me than anything." Rachel bit her lip as her eyes began to sting. "But our relationship hasn't been the same since mid-summer when you began Cheerios practice again."

Seeing Q's jaw drop, Rachel rushed to continue the monologue she had practiced over and over again last night until her eyes were nearly swollen shut from all the tears she had cried. "And I know that you want to be top dog again, and that the Cheerios require so much time and energy. But I just—our relationship has taken a hit, Quinn, a big one. I feel it, and I know you do, too."

In order to keep her talking, Q nodded mutely as she attempted to make sense of what was happening. It was wrong, all wrong. Quinn at least deserved to be broken up with to her face, not having the information relayed to her by a proxy.

Feeling incredibly awkward, Q shifted her thighs on the bed to cross one leg over the other. Quinn was going to kill her. The only relief in this moment came from the fact that she wasn't necessarily the cause of it. From what Rachel was saying, their break up had been months in the making, fueled by Quinn's preoccupation with the Cheerios and reluctance to see their issues for what they were and fix them. It was a Fabray thing that Q could sympathize with.

"You're extremely focused on the Cheerios and I completely understand. Had I ever have been dethroned from my leadership in glee club, as idiotic as that would have been, I would be just as determined and have just as much tunnel vision as you do now."

Q resisted the urge to laugh at how that part of Rachel's speech managed to turn offensive. She jerked when Rachel reached out to grab her hand. Wounded expression on her face, Rachel began to pull away when Q squeezed her hand in apology. "Sorry, you just startled me."

Rachel nodded with a small smile. "We have separate goals right now, Quinn. I want to be a unit with someone who wants me just as fiercely. And right now, right now what you want is the Cheerios, and that's okay."

Inhaling a deep breath, Q prepared herself for the final blow. "What are you saying?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "What I'm saying, Quinn, is that…I think we should break up." 

* * *

Quinn sat upright on the couch between Judy and Russell. The sound of Beverly Mitchell's voice on 7th Heaven became background noise as seemingly everything and nothing went wrong in her life at once. Her heart squeezed in agony as Quinn's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "What…"

"Quinn?" Judy's hand landed on Quinn's shoulder. "Quinnie? Is there something wrong, honey?"

Russell looked around for any sign of the cause of distress as he stood from the couch. "What's going on?"

Quinn stood from the couch, aimlessly walking forward. "I don't know," she admitted. She didn't know what was going on, but couldn't shake the feeling that something felt extremely wrong. "I don't know."

Judy followed her step by step with a hand on her shoulder. "Do you feel sick, Quinn?"

Quinn nodded. It was the closest word that could describe her aching heart, confusion, and pounding head. "I think I need to lie down for a while."

"Do you need us to come with you?" Russell asked, brow furrowed in confusion and concern.

"No." Quinn shook from Judy's grasp then turned to face them both. "I'll be okay. I just need my bed."

Judy nodded. "If you need anything—"

"I'll ask," Quinn cut in. She attempted to smile, but winced instead and ran up the stairs to Quinnie's bedroom.

She locked the door behind her and flopped on the bed, vaguely wondering if she was going to die. "What the hell is happening?" 

* * *

Q hung with her mouth open for seconds on end as Rachel stared up at her with tears brimming in her eyes. "Quinn, please—"

"I don't understand," Q whispered, more so in utter confusion than the devastation Rachel took it as. She had been dropped into the middle of a relationship heading toward a train wreck, and she looked up to the ceiling, wondering if she concentrated enough if she would beam up and away.

Rachel's hiccupping sob tore her attention away from her own discomfort, and she looked to find tears staining a face that was so similar to her best friend's. So similar that Q felt a familiar knot settle in her stomach, the same knot that would find its home there whenever Rachel could come over with puffy red eyes after she and Finn had gotten into a fight.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," Rachel sobbed. "I'm—I'm simply thinking of our future! I've given this quite a bit of thought, and if we break amicably now, versus dragging this out to a most likely bitter ending, our chances of reconciling in the future more than double."

Q's eyes widened. So Rachel had a plan after all. She wasn't just going to dump Quinn because her feelings were no longer there. She was attempting to salvage what was left by cutting ties now, putting the brakes on their relationship, so to speak.

Q adjusted on the bed to face Rachel more fully. "So let me get this straight. You still want…me?" She bit her lip as the word _Fabray_ nearly left her mouth.

Rachel nodded helplessly. "I'm in love with you, Quinn. Of _course_ I still want you. And I hope you still want me, too. It's just—your mind is somewhere else right now, Quinn. And while I respect that, I can no longer handle not being the center of your attention. It _kills_ me, Quinn, knowing that you're distracted, knowing that your mind is somewhere else, knowing that the Cheerios mean more to you right now than I do." She tugged at the edge of her sweater and dabbed at the corner of her eye with a self-deprecating shrug of her shoulders. "I'm a theater geek, remember? I can't thrive in darkness, Quinn. I need the spotlight, _your_ spotlight. I need you to shine on _me_, not the Cheerios."

Q nodded as if this all made complete sense to her. Because it _did_. It may have been a different dimension, but this Rachel was hers through and through. She had the sudden urge to thump Quinn across the forehead for allowing her relationship with Rachel to continue for this long, knowing Rachel was withering in darkness.

"No."

The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it, and Q's body barely resisted toppling over onto the floor in an attempt to catch it.

Rachel hiccupped then sniffled. "No, what?" Her voice was nasally and a touch whiny, and Q couldn't help but turn to her with a small smile.

"I—I can fix this," she continued, still unsure as to where she was going.

"Fix what?" Rachel sat up straighter and gave whom she thought was her girlfriend her undivided attention.

Q's eyebrows knitted together as she wondered just what she was trying to pull here. She had her own life to live and no time to work on repairing some other Quinn's relationship. Still, the fact that they were even together was a feat Q had to acknowledge. It couldn't have been easy. Hell even her own friendship with Rachel was hard fought, mostly on Rachel's part, but still. She couldn't imagine the tight ropes that the two of them walked day by day just to keep their relationship afloat.

There was a part of her that felt it was her duty to help this dimension's Quinn and even Rachel, though a bigger part of her told her to stay the hell away from this and let this dimension run its rightful course.

But even still, there didn't seem to be anything right in standing by while Rachel broke up with who she assumed was her girlfriend. Because maybe Quinn would have put up a fight instead of passively allowing this to happen to her. Maybe Quinn didn't want this to end. And Q felt she owed it to Quinn, her counterpart, to at least _try_.

"Us…" Q murmured, swallowing a lump down her throat. "I can fix us." Her eyes blazed with determination as she met Rachel head on. "Just…give me a chance, Rachel. Give _us_ a chance."

Rachel's hopeful skepticism casted a conflicted expression across her face. "I don't know, Quinn. We've been trying for weeks."

"No, _you've_ been trying for weeks while graciously giving me credit," Q informed her as if she knew. And maybe she did. She and Quinn were cut from the same cloth, only separated by a single unknown decision made at some point in time. At the true essence of themselves, they were still the same person. And from the way Rachel's face lit up at the validation, Q knew she hit her mark. "I haven't been trying," she admitted for Quinn. "Because I just…I expect for things to work out. I hope for the best. But I've never—I don't know how to put effort into _people_. And it's time I learned."

Uncertain, Q reached out to place her hand atop Rachel's. It was warm and soft, pliable in her hands and waiting for her silent instruction. She inhaled a deep breath and grasped it loosely. "One more chance," she asked, unable to look at Rachel. "That's all I ask. And show me, show me what you need."

It was silent for a moment, and Q felt her cheeks grow warm in utter embarrassment. She had no idea where any of that had come from. It just felt like the right thing to say in the moment. She just hoped it was enough.

The palm of her hand grew ticklish as Rachel turned her hand over to clasp Q's. Tentatively, Q looked up to find Rachel staring at her with watery eyes. Rachel nodded heavily then collapsed into Q's arms.

Air whooshed out of Q's lungs on impact, more so from relief than anything. 

* * *

Jaw clenched, Quinn was curled into a ball on the bed as a single tear slid down her cheek. Just as it was released, the pain that seemed to rattle her bones began to subside. Her chest heaved with shallow breaths as the weight that had landed seemingly on her heart started to ease. Her legs slowly uncurled and she rolled onto her back in the middle of the bed.

She wiped the tear from her face and brought her finger up to her eyes to stare at it.

The pain had completely vanished in thin air, the same place it had come from. She swallowed thickly and sat up on her elbows to glance around the room for any sign of _anything_.

She stumbled out of bed onto shaky knees and staggered to the bathroom. Nothing appeared psychically wrong as she assessed herself in the mirror.

Only a dull ache in her chest and thoughts of Rachel in her head. 

* * *

Lucy walked out of school with her shoulders squared back and an unimpressed look on her face. She had been trying her best to understand what kind of crowd Q ran with, but so far the only people who would even talk to her were Rachel, Puck, and Finn. And that did not make a crowd. She drew her bag higher on her shoulder, and nearly resisted kneeing Puck in the groin when he snuck up behind her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Sup, hot stuff?"

"Will you just—keep your lips to yourself!" Lucy yelled, attempting to regain her composure as everyone stared at them.

He shot her a strange look then shrugged. "Must be your time. Anyway, catch you at the truck."

Lucy rolled her eyes as he jogged into the parking lot. She had learned over the course of the week that going to school also meant having Puck drive her home afterward, which pretty much sucked. She waited until he was a good distance away then started off behind him. "What a prick," she grumbled to herself. Bumming rides off Puck every day after school was by far her least favorite pastime. And that was saying something considering there was—

"Quinn!"

—talking to Rachel.

Lucy clucked her tongue and spun on her heel to find Rachel barreling down the brick steps in an attempt to catch up with her. She linked arms with Lucy, and Lucy nearly dislocated a shoulder from how hard she jerked away.

She released a pained sigh as her eyes squeezed shut in a wince. When she opened them again, Rachel was staring at her with tears already brimming.

Lucy's jaw dropped at her own knee-jerk reaction, remembering that Q and Lucy were actually friends, and it was her responsibility to maintain that.

Rachel's lower lip quivered. "What have I done?"

Lucy's mouth opened and closed as she shook her head. "Ber—Rachel…"

"Why have you been so _mean_ to me all week?"

"Rachel," she tried again. "Look, I'm—"

Before she could get another word out, Rachel had spun on her heels and took off back into the school. 

* * *

Q's eyes widened as she slammed her locker shut. Her jaw visibly clenched as anger suddenly overcame her.

Rachel reached out to stroke the prominent muscle flexing in her jawline. "What's wrong?"

What was wrong was that she had the sudden urge to strangle one of her counterparts, and wasn't sure why. Her gut was telling her that she needed to get back home, _now_—that something had gone completely wrong and needed immediate attention.

But Rachel rubbing her jawline forced Q to remain in the present. Her body eased in tension as she met Rachel's concerned eyes. "Is everything all right?"

Q forced a smile that appeared to be more of a grimace. "I just…forgot to pick up an assignment for my chemistry class."

Rachel smiled in sympathy. "You must have a lot on your mind," she commented, reaching for Q's hand in support. "I'm sorry you forgot your assignment."

Q shrugged, not really paying attention as she wondered what could have possibly gone wrong in her world. 

* * *

Lucy sighed as she watched Rachel run away. Everyone stared after her as if she had grown two heads. Incensed, she gritted her teeth as her hands balled into fists. "_What_?"

"Don't attempt to denounce your freakish friendship with Berry in an attempt to reclaim your popularity now," a voice called from the crowd.

Lucy's eyes widened at the familiarity of the voice. Sure enough, Santana materialized from the crowd with Brittany by her side. "You chose your fate of obscurity when you chose to turn your back on the Cheerios to be Man-Hand's friend."

It was like she was in a movie—Freaky Friday. Someone had turned her world upside down, and Lucy feared she'd get a nosebleed from the whiplash of it all.

"What—" Her voice was hoarse from surprise and utter dismay. "What the _hell_ did you just say to me?" She wasn't even daring Santana to say it again. For her own memory, she needed to hear it again, because it didn't stick the first time.

But Santana took it as a challenge, and stepped closer, her Cheerios uniform a bullet proof vest against Lucy's dress and flats. "I _said_ you may as well keep Berry as your friend, 'cause she's all you got, Vanilla Wafer."

It got worse and worse each time. Lucy blinked rapidly as her eyes began to sting.

The screeching of tires didn't catch her attention, but Puck's voice did as he kept screaming her name. "Quinn! Yo, Quinn, we gotta go!"

She turned from Santana's smirk, from the crowd to see an angel in a rusty pick-up truck. Never in her life had Lucy been so glad to see any Puck, let alone the arrogant pig-head from this dimension. She casted a withering glance back at Santana and jogged toward the truck.

She said nothing as she pulled the seatbelt across her lap until it clicked. Puck peeled off as if he were in the Indy 500, and without any warning, Lucy broke down into uncontrollable sobs the second his back tires cleared the school parking lot.

Puck gave a start at the pain-filled sound and accidentally gave his steering wheel a jerk. "Woah!" he cried as he attempted to right his truck before it collided with a sedan. He inhaled shallow breaths as he glanced from the road to Lucy then back again. She had her arms wrapped around her middle and her head bowed as she sobbed into his pick-up. Puck mumbled to himself as he tried to remember what day it was. "Do you have therapy today?"

Lucy only cried harder for the life she had found herself in. An unpopular Quinn who was friends with Rachel, and apparently had 'episodes' bad enough to warrant therapy. Lucy didn't need therapy. She needed her damn life. She needed her popularity. She needed Santana to be her second in command instead of having command over her. She needed Rachel and her overabundance of feelings as far away from her as possible.

She did _not_ need Q's poor excuse for a life.

"Ah, shit, you don't have therapy today," Puck informed them both. "You have to work. I completely forgot."

"_Work_?" Lucy shrieked.

"Yeah, the bank, remember?"

Lucy gasped like someone had shot her in the chest. "I am _not_ going to work," she roared, glaring across the truck at him for even suggesting.

His expression grew perplexed. "But…"

Having a brief lapse in character, Lucy remembered that she was embodying Q, and tried a different tactic. Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, Lucy made her chin quiver. "Do I look like I'm in any position to work right now, Puck? I mean, _look_ at me."

Puck's eyes raked down her body with less concern than Lucy would have liked. He hummed to himself then turned his attention back to the road. "You do look like you're a wreck, babe. Why don't we go back to my place, and you let daddy take care of you."

Lucy nearly gagged. 

* * *

She sat at the head of Puck's bed, watching him rummage around in a too tight white tank top. He was all brawn and no brain, and while Lucy understood his aesthetic appeal, she didn't understand what kept Q from feeling like she was talking to a wall when she was with him.

After depositing a ton of worn underwear in the hamper, Puck glanced over at Lucy with an eager grin and pounced onto the bed.

She tensed as his presence neared and resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he sat beside her. A beefy arm slithered around her shoulders, but Lucy at least had to admire his grace, because Finn would have found a way to even get that move wrong.

Puck scooted closer until they were completely touching. "Now, where were we…"

Lucy bit her lip curiously as she watched how confidently his hand rose and landed on her thigh. She huffed out a humorless laugh. "You've got to be kidding me." The nasal quality that her voice still carried from when she was crying in his pick-up less than five minutes ago made the situation even more absurd.

Puck turned to her more fully. "Remember what I said? Daddy's taking care of you."

Lucy grabbed his hand that was reaching for her breast and shrugged out from under his arm. "I have a father and he—"

"Isn't around," Puck finished, blinking at her in surprise Lucy didn't quite understand.

Her mouth formed an O of acknowledgement as she remembered that some Quinns really didn't have their fathers. She cleared her throat and cut Puck a dry look. "Regardless, I _have_ one, and I'm not looking for another. So no thanks."

Puck's eyebrows knitted together for a moment. Then he smiled and scooted his hand higher along her thigh.

Lucy tensed in discomfort at his advances and bolted off the bed. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled.

Puck remained on the bed, perplexed as he looked up at Lucy's taut, shaking form. He slowly retracted his hands to his own person and sat up straighter on the bed. "What's up, babe?"

"Are you fucking crazy?" Lucy roared. "No means no, damn it!"

Puck stared at her as if she had grown two heads. Slowly, he eased off the bed on the other side to give Lucy space. "Okay, I so don't get this role-play."

"I'm not role-playing! I—" she growled in frustration and stomped her foot. "If I say no, then you _stop_, Puck. Hasn't she—" Lucy stopped short. She ignored the confused expression on his face and inhaled a deep breath to calm her racing heart now that it seemed he wasn't going to pounce on her whether she consented or not. "Haven't _I_ ever taught you no means no?"

Puck shrugged. "No? I mean, it's not like I force you or anything. You say no, and I do my magic and convince you to fool around." He smirked, though he seemed offended. "Puckersaurus doesn't have to have sex with a girl against her will to get some, babe."

Lucy feared her head would explode in anger. Either that or her heart was about to go into full arrest. She stormed across the room to come face to face with Puck and jabbed him in his chest. "Well let me tell you something, _babe_, when a woman says no it means _no_. It does not under any circumstances mean 'try to convince me.' Am I making myself clear?"

Puck rolled his eyes. "Chill, babe—"

"I will not chill!" Lucy objected. "I have been 'chill' in this relationship for long enough, and it is time you grow up and learn to respect my boundaries, Puckerman."

She wasn't sure where her words were coming from. She had only spent about a week in this world, but it was more than enough time to grow sick of Q's boyfriend and his immaturity.

"Babe—"

"And if you can't do that then…maybe we shouldn't be together."

Puck stared at her for a moment, then his face contorted into anger. "Fine!" Like a child, he stormed around the room in search of his keys. "I'll drive you home."

Lucy snatched her cardigan from a chair in the corner and shoved her arm into a sleeve. "Don't bother. I'd rather wait for a ride on the corner than climb in that B.O. infested dump truck with you." She didn't even bother to notice the wounded expression on his face as she turned around and stormed out of the room.

When she was out of the house, Lucy dialed Finn's number. He was the closest to the real thing she could get, and right now she needed it.

"_Hello? Quinn?_"

"Hey." Lucy drew her cardigan closed as she walked up the street. Perhaps she should have thought this through. Puck's neighborhood didn't look remotely safe. "Look, I need a ride home."

She nearly laughed at the sound of a bag of chips crunching in the background. "_Yeah, totally. Where are you?_"

"I'm, uh…I'm at Puck's house," she admitted. "We kind of got into a fight."

"_Woah, that's way intense. Are you okay?_"

"I'm fine. I just need a ride."

He must have detected the edge creeping into her voice, because he stopped prying right away. "_I'll be over soon_."

"Thanks, Finn. Thanks a lot."

She ended the call, and no more than a minute later did she feel her entire being begin to tingle. "Oh sh—" 

* * *

"—it," Lucy finished as she was now greeted with nothing but white space.

All four of them stood at opposite points in the white nonthing-ness that was their inter-dimension.

Q was the first to move as she stormed toward Lucy. Without warning, her hand came down to Lucy's face and Quinn and Quinnie seemed to snap out of her their reveries at the echoing sound. "What the _hell_ have you done?" Q screamed.

"Wait a minute," Quinn commanded as she stepped toward them, Quinnie joining from the opposite side. Lucy rubbed at her jaw with narrowed eyes glaring over at Q as Quinn spoke. "You can call meetings whenever you want? That was you who led me here, right?"

Q nodded with a gruff reply. "We all can."

Quinn's face instantly grew red. "Then why the fuck have you been with my girlfriend for a week?"

"Still gross," Quinnie chimed in.

Q turned from Lucy to channel all of her aggression toward Quinn. "You think it's easy walking through different planes and finding each other? Huh?"

Quinnie shook her head. "Yeah, it's actually pretty scary, seeing different, uglier versions of myself. Like that ill-mannered, unkempt Skank Quinn."

Quinn glanced to Quinnie in alarm. "What? You guys have met others? Where are they?"

"Some of them prefer not to talk to us," Q interjected "Whether it be that their lives are already too complicated like the aforementioned Quinn with the alternative lifestyle, or their lives are going just fine for once and they don't want to complicate it like that Quinn who's dating Sam. Everyone has a choice and well, most of us choose to not go on a limb and make contact. Think about it, have you ever known yourself to be the least bit adventurous?"

Quinn shrugged halfheartedly and took a step back, journeying to the recesses of her mind as she thought of both the overly-complicated and romantically simplistic worlds the other hers had cultivated for themselves. It was astounding to think of all the possible outcomes she herself could have had, can still have.

"But all of this is beside the point." Q turned to cut Lucy a scornful look "Why the hell did you break up with my boyfriend?"

Quinn's eyes widened at the new information that was divulged as she looked from Q to Lucy.

"It was an accident!" Lucy defended, squaring her shoulders in an attempt to regain lost ground. "I got impassioned!" Though she was rapidly realizing the error in her ways. The last thing she had wanted Quinnie to do was interfere with her relationship with her boyfriend, and she had gone and done the same thing with Q and Puck. Still, it was the principal of the matter at this point. And the fact remained that Puck couldn't keep his hands to himself.

"Impassioned over what?" Q demanded.

But Lucy's eyes had already locked onto Quinnie who was beginning to back away from the argument. "That doesn't matter. What matters right now is that Goody-Two Shoes fucked my boyfriend!"

Quinnie's eyes widened, more at Lucy's language than the accusation. "Did not!"

"Did too," Lucy growled through gritted teeth as she approached Quinnie. "I can smell him all over you."

Quinnie's eyes narrowed. "Well, you kept rubbing him in my face!"

"I did not, you slut!"

"No slut-shaming!" Quinn called after them.

"Oh, shut-up, lesbian!"

"Well then you're a bitch!" Q shot back. "Who breaks up with another woman's boyfriend!"

Lucy whipped around, hair smacking Quinnie in the face as she stormed toward Q. "It's not my fault you didn't teach him that no means no. Besides, I was being a good friend and not sleeping with your boyfriend—unlike you!" She turned to point an accusatory finger at Quinnie.

"Oh, get off it! And what about you, huh?" Quinnie addressed Quinn. "Don't think I didn't notice that something's been off in my world. You and Man-Hands have been getting chummy."

"I've hardly said two words to her!" Quinn objected, unwilling to allow herself to be bullied by…herself.

Lucy scoffed in contempt. "It doesn't matter what dimension you go in. You'll just gay it up. Don't go into mine! You either!" she added, glaring at Quinnie.

Hands square on her hips, Quinn chuckled darkly. "With pleasure! I'm well aware of Finn's minute man qualities and wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole!"

"Same here, he was a lousy lay!" Quinnie taunted.

Lucy gasped. "You take that back, whore!"

"No slut-sham—"

"Everyone, shut up!" Q yelled. Quinn and Lucy glared at her for their own reasons, while Quinnie folded her arms across her chest and chose not to look at anyone. Q ran her eyes over all of them. "Obviously a lot of damage control needs to be done. Fabray, I need you to go into my world."

Quinn gawked at her for her audacity. "What? No way in hell! I'm going to my own world!"

Q stared at her blankly. "You're not."

Quinn slowly stepped forward until she was face to face with Q. "If you think I'm going to just sit here while you go back to my world and attempt to seduce my girlfriend—"

"Still eww," Quinnie chimed in.

"—then you've seriously got another thing coming."

"Fact: I am the reason you still have a damn girlfriend," Q barked in annoyance.

Quinn's eyes flashed. "No you aren't."

"Actually, I am. That mind-numbing pain you felt yesterday? Like your heart was about to rip out of your chest?"

Quinn's jaw dropped and Q shot her a knowing look. "Mhm, that one. That was Rachel breaking up with you."

Lucy caught the tell-tale sign of Quinn ready to pounce, and dove forward to wrap her arms around Quinn's middle just as she reached out to grab Q. "You bitch!" Quinn snapped.

Lucy grunted as Quinn's elbow hit her side as she tried to break loose. She shot Q a sobering look. "You're lucky I've known you for a while and kind of like you. Otherwise I'd let this loose on you."

Q nodded in acknowledgement then turned her attention back to Quinn. "What the fuck did you do!" Quinn screamed.

"_I_ didn't do anything, you selfish baby," Q spat. "This was all _your_ doing. I'm the one who undid it _for_ you."

"Rachel loves me!" Quinn affirmed, more so in an attempt to convince herself at this point. Lucy rolled her eyes at this conversation as she continued to hold Quinn by the waist.

Q nodded again. "She does. Maybe a little too much."

Quinn continued to struggle in Lucy's grip. "You just want her for yourself!"

Q ignored the remark. "Rachel told me herself that she was surprised that I—aka you—pleaded your case to salvage the relationship because you're normally too prideful to be vulnerable in front of her."

Quinn met Q's eyes as the fight in her left at the mention of Rachel. "What?"

"Face it, Fabray, I'm the best shot you have at salvaging your relationship, because right now what Rachel needs—"

"Don't tell me what she needs!" Quick reflexes as a Cheerio were the only thing that allowed Lucy to grab a hold of Quinn again before she got to Q.

"I know you don't want to hear this," Q continued over Quinn's grunting as she struggled to break free. "But what Rachel needs right now is someone who is willing to be as vulnerable as necessary to get your relationship on track. And honestly, from what she's been telling me, and from what I'm witnessing, you can't be that right now. You're too much of an alpha, and Rachel doesn't need an alpha right now. She just needs a Quinn."

"She needs _me_!"

"No." Q inhaled a breath, knowing what this would do to Quinn. "She needs me."

Quinn stopped moving and stared at Q with widened eyes as if she couldn't believe her own ears. Then she was in motion again, struggling against Lucy twice as hard.

Lucy's eyes clenched shut as her grip on Quinn began to slip. "I can't hold her."

Quinnie stepped forward to assist.

"Let her go," Q instructed.

Lucy's eyes popped open to meet Q's eyes. Then she let Quinn go. Quinn sprinted across the vacuum of empty space and raised her hand, barreling down on Q's cheek. "How _dare_ you!"

Q staggered from the strength that lay in Quinn's blow.

"She needs _me_!" Quinn continued to yell, jabbing herself in the chest.

"And what do you need?" Q asked as she righted herself. There was a drop of blood at the corner of her mouth that she swiped her tongue across to lap it up.

Quinn seemed to know where the question was leading and glanced away from Q's prying gaze. "I need a lot of things."

"You need to feel like top dog again, and Rachel alone isn't going to do it for you," Q accused. "She knows that. I know that. And deep down…you know that, too, Fabray."

Quinn shook her head. "You don't know a thing about me."

"I get it. You're on the Cheerios again and you need to be number one at all times, no room for slip ups. Vulnerability is basically equal to death right now."

Lucy nodded. "I totally get that."

"Me, too," Quinnie added.

"I don't want your girlfriend," Q assured. "She…she was going to break up with you," she admitted. "And I thought you'd blame me for it, so I begged her to stay, told her that I, that _you_, would fix things."

Quinn shook her head. "I just—I can't be who she needs me to be right now. There's too much at stake. I just have a lot I need to do."

"I know. That's why I'm saying let me help you. You aren't at a place where you can work on your relationship right now. I can be a proxy, Fabray. I've been friends with the Rachel in my universe for quite some time now. I know how Rachels work. I know what they need."

Quinn cut her a cold look, and Q lifted a hand up. "I'm not saying you don't. I'm saying I do. And I can help."

Quinn stepped to her again. "You are _not_ to kiss my girlfriend."

Q nodded. "Understood."

"_Ever_."

"I get it."

Lucy stepped forward. "But you aren't a Cheerio, Q. How the hell are you going to keep up?"

Quinn shot her an alarmed look. "You're going into my world and you can't _cheer_?"

"First of all, I'm going into your world to save _your_ relationship. Priorities, Fabray. Second of all, I've been a Cheerio before, only recently quit. It's still second nature, guys."

Lucy shrugged. "Well, that solves it. You're going to help Fabray out. She's going to take your world, and I get to go home."

"Mm, same," Quinnie hummed. "I won't be trying this again."

Lucy glared over at her.

"Wait a minute, I can't go into Q's world," Quinn countered.

Q looked distressed. "Why not?"

"You're not a Cheerio. If you're going to be in my world, I at least need to be getting practice in while I'm away."

Quinnie's eyes narrowed. "Then who's going into Q's world?"

Lucy sighed. "I can do it. I kind of owe Rachel an apology anyway."

Q's jaw clenched. "I knew it! What did you do?"

"Nothing, nothing," Lucy insisted. "I just forget that you guys are close. She's just really annoying. Nothing, don't worry about it."

Q shook her head. "I don't want you in my world." She looked over to Quinn. "I'm doing this favor for you; you could at least return the favor."

"Look, I can do this okay?" Lucy insisted. "I messed up. Just let me apologize."

"To her and to Puck."

At that, Lucy scoffed. "I'm _not_ apologizing to him."

Q closed her eyes for a brief moment to maintain composure. "Look…" Her eyes opened again and focused on Lucy. "Both of my parents aren't together like yours are, okay? I don't see dad often. And he doesn't—my mom and I don't have a lot of money. I don't have a car."

"Tell me about it," Lucy grumbled under her breath.

"And…Puck's car is my only mode of transportation."

Understanding seemed to dawn on each Quinn at the exact same moment.

"Oh…" Quinn muttered.

Quinnie began to cackle.

"You're _using_ him for rides to work!" Lucy smiled at Q. "Finally you seem like one of us. I knew there was a shrewd bitch somewhere under there."

"Language," Quinnie chastised.

Q shook her head at them. "It's not something I'm proud of, okay? Now can you please just fix all this?"

Feeling just a bit closer to her counterpart, Lucy sighed and shrugged all at once. "I guess I can figure something out."

Q, too, sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Their meeting looked as if it was coming to a close, and Quinn stepped forward to insert herself in the conversation. "Look, you said we can call these meetings whenever we like, right?"

She was solely looking at Q, and Q nodded. "That's right."

"How?"

"Concentrate on us, which shouldn't be hard to do considering we're the only Quinns you know." Q thought it over. "Make sure you're alone obviously. Your body will start to feel like jelly."

"Or tingle," Lucy added.

"Or both at once," Quinnie told her.

"But the important thing is to go with it," Q continued. "Keep the concentration up, otherwise it won't happen."

"I'll be checking in on you," Quinn all but threatened.

Q shrugged. "Wouldn't be you if you didn't."

"And if ever she's about to kiss you, you come get me, understand?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Well, if this meeting is adjourned, I have a strawberry smoothie that I'm overdue for," Quinnie informed them as she began to backpedal toward Lucy's dimension. She waved at them with an almost friendly smile. "Once more with feeling, guys."

Lucy looked on mournfully as she once again had to watch someone else live her life. Jealousy flared within her and she couldn't help but threaten Quinnie one more time. "Stay away from my boyfriend."

"This time I'll actually listen," Quinnie promised. Within a second she was gone, leaving the three remaining Quinns to stare at each other.

"You know I've been wondering," Lucy began as she approached Q. "What the hell are you in therapy for?"

Q's eyes bulged out of her head as if she had completely forgotten. "I—that's nothing. Don't worry about it. You can just skip those meetings. It's nothing."

Quinn and Lucy both shot her twin looks of suspicion. "But your phone keeps going off about appointments," Lucy pointed out. "Obviously it's important if the appointment time keeps going off on your phone."

"_Quinn_!"

"Whose mom is that?" Quinn asked.

They all took a second to respond as they attempted to remember whose world they were in. "Quinnie's mom," Quinn finally responded. "I have to go." She began backing away, locking eyes with Q. "I meant what I said. If she even looks like she's going to kiss you, you come get me."

Q rolled her eyes. "Okay, I get it."

When Quinn was gone, Lucy rounded on Q. "Be honest, do you want her?"

Q stepped back from Lucy's overbearing presence. "No, of course not."

Lucy folded her arms across her chest. "Because you seem to be really eager about making sure their relationship stays intact."

"Because I'm trying to be a good friend and make sure that Fabray's life, upon her return, is no different than how it was when she left. And if it doesn't end up changing, then it's for the better." Q's eyes narrowed. "Unlike you guys."

Her remark was like a blow to the gut, and Lucy conceded. "I messed up, okay? It's just…your world is so completely different from mine, and I don't like it."

"Gee, thanks for saying my life sucks."

"It doesn't…suck," Lucy halfheartedly protested. "It's just not my life. And after having grown accustomed to being on the Cheerios, and having Finn as my boyfriend, and keeping Rachel at arm's length—your world is a bit of a shock."

Q scoffed. "Look, do you need me to get Fabray back here, because I can—"

"No, I can do this," Lucy asserted. "I can. I just need to adjust my mindset."

"And apologize to Rachel."

"…yeah."

"And Puck."

"I'm not apologizing for what I said to him. In fact, you need to apologize to all of woman-kind for allowing such a Neanderthal to walk around."

Q sucked her teeth and looked away.

"He's an idiot, Q."

"An idiot with a car."

"But an idiot." Lucy glanced away from Q and began fidgeting with a lock of hair. "And maybe…you deserve better, okay?"

Q glanced over at Lucy then away again. Sentimental moments between them were far and few in between. They had yet to master being able to say what they wanted without either turning into blushing messes, or crotchety old men. "Yeah, I get that," Q snapped. Case in point.

"Like…maybe Finn or something."

Q lifted her head to get a good look at Lucy once again. "Are you kidding me?"

Lucy's head shot up. "What?"

"Are you really trying to get with Finn under the guise of doing this for me?"

"What? I—no!"

"He's Rachel's _boyfriend_!"

"No—yeah, I totally get that."

"Do you?"

Lucy sighed. "All right, forget I asked. I'll apologize to Rachel, and…work something out with Puck."

Q's jaw clenched. "Rachel is the best friend that I have, Lucy."

"I know."

"Do you?" Q paced the empty vacuum with her hands clasped behind her back. "She's not one of those fake, empty-headed friends like Santana and Brittany, okay? There's substance to her, to our friendship."

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll apologize, geez."

Q straightened to look at Lucy head on. "All you have to do is maintain cordiality with her until I get back. Think you can handle that?"

"I'm not some brain-dead invalid, Q. I've got this."

Q nodded. Whether or not she believed Lucy didn't matter. For now she would have to trust her. "Okay. Meeting adjourned."


End file.
